1. Montesquieu

Main claims: ① Separation of the three powers and checks and balances

② Law should embody rationality (representative works such as "On the Laws" "Spirit", "Persian Letters", etc.)

Montesquieu, (1689-1755), was born into an aristocratic family in the Labrale de Manor near Bordeaux, France. A great French Enlightenment thinker and jurist. Montesquieu was not only a famous thinker during the French Enlightenment in the 18th century, but also one of the earliest scholars in modern European countries to systematically study ancient Eastern society and legal culture. Although his writings are not many, his influence is quite extensive, especially the comprehensive work "The Spirit of Law", which laid the foundation for the development of modern Western political and legal theory and also influenced Europeans to a great extent. Perspectives on Eastern political and legal culture. The doctrine of separation of powers proposed by him is still used by some countries today.

2. Voltaire

Main advocates: ①Advocating constitutional monarchy

②Advocating natural human rights, freedom and equality

③"Before the law "Everyone is equal"

④Criticized the Catholic Church and advocated freedom of belief

(Voltaire, 1694-1778): formerly known as François-Marie Arouet (Fran?ois) -Marie Arouet), French Enlightenment thinker, litterateur, and philosopher. Voltaire was the standard-bearer of the French bourgeois Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. He was known as the "King of Thoughts", "France's finest poet" and "the conscience of Europe". He advocated natural human rights, believing that people are born free and equal, and that all people have the right to pursue survival and happiness. This right is natural and cannot be deprived. He advocated that people should be free from birth and that everyone is equal before the law. He once said: "I cannot agree with every word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire also pointedly said Criticizing the dark rule of the Catholic Church, he compared the Pope to a "two-legged beast" and called the priests "civilized villains". He said that Catholicism is "the most shameful trap set by all cunning people" and called on "everyone to Each individual struggled in his own way against the appalling religious fanaticism." His major works include "Philosophical Correspondence" and "The Age of Louis XIV".

3. Diderot

Diderot was a French materialist philosopher, esthetician, litterateur, educational theorist, and representative of the Encyclopedia School in the 18th century. The first French Editor-in-Chief of "Encyclopedia".

While Diderot insisted on a materialist philosophical viewpoint, he also had dialectical thinking that was lacking in the materialists of his generation. Some scholars believe that his materialism should be called transitional materialism.

Diderot stood on the standpoint of the third estate in France, insisting that the country originated from the social contract and that the monarch's power came from the agreement of the people. He pointed out that the only thing that can realize people's freedom and equality is a political system. Any political system must be changed. Its life, like the life of animals, will inevitably lead to death. The feudal autocracy will eventually disappear and be replaced by a government suitable for human nature.

4. Rousseau

Main advocates: ①Innate human rights, people’s sovereignty

②Social contract theory (works include "The Social Contract", etc.)

③Revolutionary legitimacy

④Private ownership is the root of inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Jean-Jacques Rousseau) (1712-1778) He was a famous French Enlightenment thinker, philosopher, educator, and writer. He was the ideological pioneer of the French Revolution in the 18th century and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment. Among the French Enlightenment thinkers, Rousseau was the most severe and fierce critic of French feudal society. Rousseau was a radical democrat, and the essence and basic principle of his thought was the idea of ​​popular sovereignty. He believed that all rights belonged to the people. The government and officials were appointed by the people. The people had the right to appoint them and to replace them. They even had the right to stage an uprising to eliminate the rulers who enslaved and oppressed the people. This is the idea of ​​popular sovereignty. Rousseau also emphasized the "public will", believing that it is very important and citizens should accept its rule. The specific form of "public will" is the law, and the act of obeying the law is the act of freedom. Rousseau's ideas became the theoretical banner of the Jacobins led by Robespierre during the French Revolution, and had a profound impact on the prosperity of bourgeois revolutions in European and American countries.

5. Kant

Kant Immanuel Kant was born on April 22, 1724, and entered the University of Konigsberg in 1740. From 1746, he served as a tutor for 4 years. He completed his university studies in 1755, obtained the qualification of non-staff lecturer, and served as a lecturer for 15 years. During this period Kant's reputation as a teacher and writer grew. Beginning in 1781, a series of great and original works covering a wide range of fields were published within nine years, bringing about a revolution in philosophical thought in a short period of time. Such as "Critique of Pure Reason" (1781), "Critique of Practical Reason" (1788), and "Critique of Judgment" (1790).

6. Hobbes

(1588-1679) a famous early Enlightenment thinker, was born in a rural priest family in Wiltshire, England.

He was smart and studious since childhood, and entered Oxford University at the age of 15. He traveled on the European continent for many years, met many scientists, and worked as Bacon's secretary. His thoughts were deeply influenced by Bacon. During the period of the British bourgeois revolution, the British moved to France for a time. When Cromwell was in power, he returned to the United Kingdom. Since then, his ideas have been spread (therefore, the British bourgeois revolution has not been influenced by the thoughts of Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes). Hobbes represented the interests of the upper class of the bourgeoisie during the British bourgeois revolution. He not only put forward some of the most basic enlightenment ideas, but also had an obvious sense of feudal backwardness. He believed that the country was not created according to the will of God but by people through social contracts; the monarchy was not granted by God but by the people. He insisted that once the ruler is authorized, the people must obey absolutely and without any regrets; therefore, he is not opposed to autocratic monarchy, and even believes that autocratic regimes have the right to interfere with the property of their subjects. He believed that there was no God in the world and that religion was just the product of human ignorance and fear, but he also proposed that religion could help maintain social order. The masterpiece "Leviathan".

7. Locke

(1632-1704) Locke’s ideas were formed during the British bourgeois revolution and catered to the needs of the British bourgeoisie at that time. He revised Hobbes's thought and believed that the purpose of establishing a state according to a contract was to protect private property, so the state should not interfere with the private property of citizens. He has a famous saying that reads, "The wind can enter my thatched house, the rain can enter, but the king cannot enter." In terms of the form of political power, he favored a constitutional monarchy and advocated that the country's legislative power, executive power and the right to handle foreign affairs should belong to the parliament and the monarch.